In the 21st century, reality television and the Internet have fed public interest in ghosts, UFOs, cryptozoology and other unusual phenomena. By 2010, roughly 2000 amateur research and investigation groups formed in the U.S.– ghost hunters, big-foot chasers, and UFO researchers, using an array of (supposedly) scientific equipment and methods with an aim of proving the existence of the paranormal. American culture’s honorific regard for science, coupled with the public’s unfamiliarity with scientific methods, created a niche for self-styled paranormal experts to achieve a measure of respect and authority without scientific training or credentials. These groups of amateurs serve as a surrogate for scientists in examining strange claims. And, they provide a unique lens by which we can examine the wider public understanding of science and research.

Presenter Bio:

Sharon A. Hill is an advocate for science appreciation, critical thinking, and evidence-based inquiry, specializing in pop culture discourse on ghosts, monsters, mysteries, anomalies, and oddities. She is the creator of DoubtfulNews.com, SpookyGeology.com, and the host of the podcast 15 Credibility Street. She has degrees in Geosciences and Education with a focus on science and the public. Her personal website is SharonAHill.com.

Central New York Skeptics (CNY Skeptics) is a community organization dedicated to the promotion of science and reason, the investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims, and the improvement of standards for science education and critical-thinking skills.

gorgeous wrote:"Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real." - Niels Bohr

As Marge and I were leaving the Jacksonville Humanist Book Club meeting yesterday afternoon, a fellow that I've been gradually getting to know said to me "So, you think that there's a CIA conspiracy that controls US foreign policy?"

Not knowing just where he was coming from I said "Yes, I'm a conspiracy theorist," and Marge said, "Oh, you are not!"

He laughed and said, "I agree with you, but I don't call myself a conspiracy theorist, I call myself a "conspiracy analyst."

I think I'll adopt this term for myself, and thought that you might be interested in this idea, too.

If one can be taught to believe absurdities, one can commit atrocities. --Voltaire

Tom Palven to Gorgeous wrote:He laughed and said, "I agree with you, but I don't call myself a conspiracy theorist, I call myself a "conspiracy analyst." I think I'll adopt this term for myself, and thought that you might be interested in this idea, too.

Soooooo.......like Gorgeous, who believes alien lizards run the planet, you copy hilarious "fuzzy" conspiracy claims from the internet, refuse to supply any evidence for any part of the claim and can't actually explain how your conspiracy is meant to work in any detail.

Both you are Gorgeous are elderly males. I think we all know what is really going on here.

So, Niels Bohr is like a god for Gorgeous? So he couldn't in any way be wrong in one of his conclusions? If he had spoken "QM has nothing to do with spiritual quackery" would Gorgeous be copying and pasting it here repeatedly too?